Australia to sign new NATO partnership

Australia is set to sign a new deal with NATO when Scott Morrison meets with the head of the intergovernmental military alliance in Sydney on Wednesday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be in Australia for two days following a visit to New Zealand for security talks.

He will meet with the prime minister, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and other senior officials in Sydney where an "enhanced partnership plan" between NATO and Australia will be signed.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has spent the past three decades building partnerships with non-member countries in a bid to improve the way military forces operate together and manage crises.

Mr Stoltenberg also plans a series of meetings with Australian foreign and defence officials in Canberra on Thursday and will speak at the Australian National University.

NATO represents 50 per cent of the world's gross domestic product and half of the world's military might.

The NATO boss is expected to discuss with Australian officials the growing role and influence of Russia and China, the continuing threat of terrorism and the complex issue of cyber conflict.

Mr Stoltenberg told a forum in NZ a more assertive Russia was putting the global rules-based order under pressure.

China's role and influence was also a sign of increasing global power competition.

"While China presents a very different set of challenges than Russia, its rise also has implications for the global rules-based order and for our security," he said.

"We see this in the South China Sea, in cyberspace, and in Chinese investments in critical infrastructure in many countries, including in Europe. So, therefore, we need to better understand the challenges and the opportunities the rise of China presents."

The fight against Daesh, or Islamic State, was not over, he said, although significant progress had been made in reducing the terrorist organisation's scale and influence.

Australia contributes around 300 personnel to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, as well as funding for Afghan defence and security forces.

Mr Stoltenberg visited Christchurch where he met with mayor Lianne Dalziel and first responders involved in stopping the March mosque attacks in the city.

He also visited the Al Noor mosque, where he laid a floral tribute in memory of the victims, and met with members of the Muslim community.

Mr Stoltenberg is no stranger to such tragedy, having been prime minister of Norway during the Oslo summer camp terrorist attack in 2011.

He said the Christchurch and Oslo attacks were a reminder that "terrorism is not about religion, it's about hatred".

"It's about extremism, it's about people that believe that they have the right to use violence against others.

"And therefore, we need to condemn and fight terrorism, extremism, regardless of what kind of guise, what kind of form it comes in."